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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bulb — for light
  5. row — a line
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitch — completely
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. file — a line of people
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — music
  16. file — a document
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — music
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. row — to paddle
  21. swing — to play on
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. deal — to handle
  24. swing — in golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com